Lexus LFA First Drive in The Sunday Times
Another of the journalists to drive the Lexus LFA at the Goodwood Festival of Speed was The Sunday Times’ Andrew Frankel:
At the beginning of the hillclimb I hit the start button expecting a massive roar but . . . silence. Through my helmet and at idle the engine is Lexus-quiet. I put it in gear and plant the accelerator on the floor and that all changes: despite the vast slick tyres, the wheelspin was instant and the noise deafening.
...I drove as fast as I knew how, discovering in the process one of the best-balanced and friendly road racers I have handled. Despite those menacing looks, its ferocious speed and cheek-rippling grip, the LF-A is like all the best sorted supercars: inspiring more confidence the faster you drive it.
With the full backing of Toyota and new president/race car drive Akio Toyoda, I’m not surprised that the journalists are taken aback by its performance—but that the vehicle’s engineers were able to maintain that “Lexus-quiet” on start-up is a real accomplishment.
Most telling is this quote from the article:
As a proud Lexus man told me: “Many supercar makers put their road cars on the racetrack. We’re going to put our race car on the road.”
[Source: The London Times]
Similar Stories:
Comments
To enable your avatar, please sign up with the Gravatar service.
Please keep your comments relevant to this news story. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.
Debate is welcome and encouraged, but no personal attacks will be allowed. Failure to respect all participants on this website could result in removal and blocked access.
“Many supercar makers put their road cars on the racetrack. We’re going to put our race car on the road.”
i like those words
i mean it
& i adore that beast
just waiting for its final design in tokyo auto show
Nice. Looks like Lexus got the mechanics correct.
They better get the looks right…
Great quote, can’t wait for Tokyo Auto Show
no doubt this is gonna swoon the Lexus fans of the past back to the dark(bird’s eye maple) side.
Will the LFA have any interior wood, like the dark grey Bird’s Eye Maple used in the GS ?
Likely to have carbon fiber trim as standard. Its possible they might offer several trim & interior color options like most exotic cars.
it’d have to be good when lexus made so much hype about it, ie 5 years of waiting
im happy with what i just read
heh heh, that’s exactly what i was wondering. i think i wrote this in some distant article, but i’m not sure: i’m gonna guess that the LFA will indeed have that disturbingly sexy dark grey wood, and possibly medium brown walnut or dark brown ash burl. if they make an F trim, it’ll probably have the aluminized composite trim like the one on the ISF, or something similar. i’m really sweating for it to have the even more disturbingly sexy terra cotta leather like the ISF. i’m dying for it to have red leather. i think i’ll have a cardiac arrest from anticipation till october.
I hope they offer lots of shiny high-quality wood and chrome accents as an option.
haha, i can imagine them making pure black wood with white outlines and covered in chrome
i must be crazy lol
i am not that happy
it seemed confirmed that lexus ‘ll make only 500 version
with 120 of ‘em to japan
:’(
i hope they make it a regular production model
@mtema99—it doesn’t look like the LFA will ever be a standard production model, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of its styling and technology filter down throughout the Lexus lineup. I also expect the next SC will borrow heavily from the LFA.
I can’t picture wood at all, unless it was piano black like LEXUSaddict suggests. It will be all carbon-fiber, IMO.
really hope so krew
i read before that it may be standard model (production model) if they see reviews from people and if they found the 500 order done in less than expected time example as happening with the HSh&prius; nowadays
and i think you are right top speed made a rendering before for the next SC based on the LFA
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/lexus/2010-lexus-sc-ar53738/picture236726.html
and about the chassis and engine i think they ‘ll be in both NG-SC&GS;
or that what i hope
and last but not least hope to see the next GS as LFA 4 door or as the rendering above but in sedan shape
who know
hope akio toyoda not playing safe as Mr. Watanabe
sorry the rendering just appear as link
that is the photo
hope it works
http://www.topspeed.com/cars/lexus/2010-lexus-sc-ar53738/picture236726.html
How bout Ecru leather with Golden Bird’s Eye Maple like in the LS430 ? That’ll really get noticed !
With the rumored 30 possible combinations, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it!
if they don’t make a new SC they should at least make a smaller version of the LFA based off the SC, like that picture above, and make that permanent production, with a base price of $105,000 and make an sl550 competitor. the Lexus FC550?